Confident Hamas stages rallies in West Bank

December 14, 2012|Reuters

* Hamas holds first West Bank rallies since 2007

* Reconciliation sought with secular Fatah party

By Noah Browning

HEBRON, West Bank, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Supporters of thePalestinian Islamist group Hamas took to the streets of Hebronon Friday for the first time in five years, in a sign ofimproving relations with their secular Fatah rivals.

Fatah and Hamas have been at loggerheads since the latterpulled off a surprise win in 2006 parliamentary polls. A briefcivil war a year later saw Hamas seize control of the nearbyGaza Strip, leaving Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, theleader of Fatah, to consolidate his power base in the West Bank.

But the two sides have urged unity following an eight-dayconflict last month that Hamas fought with Israel in Gaza. The rallies across the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including inHebron, are the most tangible evidence yet of improved ties.

Little boys in balaclavas, gripping plastic M-16 rifles andmodels of Hamas's long-range rockets, perched on their fathers'shoulders as a crowd of several thousand commemorated the 25thanniversary of Hamas's founding.

"This movement is our future. We will fight for every inchof our land, it's ours," said Abu Malek, 60, not using hisformal name for fear of being arrested for his views.

Palestinian forces later stopped a small group of protestersfrom going to attack a nearby Israeli military checkpoint. Theyouths responded by throwing stones at their own police.

The confidence of the Western-backed Fatah is also on therise following its initiative at the United Nations last monthto see Palestine recognised as a de-facto state.

The two factions say they hope to translate theiraccomplishments into a long-promised unity agreement, and Hamasallowed Fatah demonstrators to celebrate the U.N. move in Gaza,another unprecedented sight since their 2007 divorce.

UNDERLINING CONCERNS

However, the continued detention of each other's members,disagreements over elections and disputes over their respectivesecurity forces, means any lasting deal is still some time off.

Underscoring the concerns, some demonstrators at a Hamasrally in Nablus on Thursday said they were uneasy about exposingthemselves so openly as supporters of the Islamist group.

"It's still not safe for us. We are outside celebrating now,but the security forces will come make their arrests tomorrowlike always," said Salem Riyad, wearing a leather jacket and agreen headband across his forehead.

Hamas has watched with patient delight as uprisings in theArab World have swept its Islamist ideological cousins intopower, especially the Muslim Brotherhood of neighbouring Egypt,which helped broker a truce ending last month's Gaza fighting.

Demonstrators waved the flags of Egypt and the oppositionmovement of Syria, from which Hamas was forced to move itspolitical headquarters after falling out with the Syriangovernment over its campaign against largely Sunni Muslimrebels.

"By God's will, developments in our region and new sights inour Islamic nation will come together with our Jihad to help usliberate Jerusalem," Osama Hamdan, a Hamas political official,told the crowd via a telephone link in Lebanon.

"We will never recognise Israel," the crowd chanted.

While Hamas's charter calls for the destruction of Israel,Abbas and Fatah are committed to a negotiated settlement tocreate a Palestinian state alongside Israel.